Emotional Maturity Is Something Few People Have. Here Are 5 of the Most Common Signs.

Psychologists nowadays believe that I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) is not the only metric for judging people’s abilities. Another equally important category which distinguishes individuals is what is now called E.Q. (Emotional Quotient). Very simply it’s your emotional maturity and your ability to react and respond to emotional situations in yourself and the people around you. Emotional maturity is an essential aspect of growing up. Over time we all come to some sort of appreciation for our feelings no matter how difficult that journey has been throughout our lives.

There are various yardsticks people use to figure out maturity with feelings. Some say it is your ability to handle the rough patches in life while others believe it is your ability to handle success and pleasure without letting it get to your head. Whatever may be the case, we believe that the following 5 signs are definite signals that you are an emotionally mature person who doesn’t let any crisis (or victory) get to you when it matters most.

1. Fearless in Love

Loving someone, be they family or lover is an act of bravery. It is brave because it leaves you exposed and vulnerable. Dealing with that vulnerability is what makes you an adult. Heartbreaks are a part of life and running away from them to be forever locked up in your own personal emotional prison is not a sign of maturity in the least.

2. Personal Integrity

It’s easy to not pick that fight. It’s easy for you to compromise rather than risk an interpersonal relationship. What that basically means is that you have compromised on your integrity. An emotionally mature person knows that in life it is always better to do the right thing than the easy thing. They will not compromise on their integrity to stay in the comfort of status quo, even if that means making hard choices.

3. Open-Minded

Emotionally mature people are open-minded in the genuine sense of the term. They are confident in their own values so they can adjust and adapt to new and challenging ideas. Most people who say they’re open-minded but reject all new ideas, are actually operating out of a space of insecurities. An emotionally mature person accepts and successfully tames his own insecurities.

4. No Pretensions

There is no such thing as ‘highbrow’ or ‘lowbrow’ with such people. They are capable of seeing the artistic merits even in the ordinary. Another way of saying this is that they are creative people and a creative person’s approach to art is quite something. It’s not just art but culture as well. They recognize culture to be a system and once they’re comfortable in their own skin there is no need for any pretensions. Be it caviar and champagne or a burger and beer.

5. Fierce Curiosity

An emotionally mature person is going to let the haters hate on. He is not afraid of looking stupid as much as cutting down on his personal growth by remaining ignorant. They have a burning curiosity for what’s over the next hill, metaphorically speaking, for all sorts of subjects. New information isn’t a threat; it’s a promise of enlightening epiphanies. Because they know who they are, but also know they’re never a complete and perfect whole. They’re a work in progress and they accept it.